Chapter 50#

The swaying lamplight reflected in Rong Yu’s eyes, Infected with strange madness and excitement 。#

Yang Huaiye would naturally never agree to let Rong Yu go to the gambling den, and Mo Shu also tried every which way to dissuade him, finally dragging him back to the Yang residence.

But once Rong Yu had set his mind on something, it wasn’t that easy to give up.

At midnight, he patted Chu Tan, who was keeping watch for him.

Chu Tan woke from his dream, didn’t even open his eyes, and his hand instinctively slid under Rong Yu’s clothes, kneading his slender waist. His voice was languid and husky, “Does young master want it?”

Rong Yu took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and raised his hand to deliver a crisp, loud slap.

“Are you awake now?”

Only then did Chu Tan lift his eyelids, his gaze completely clear, without the slightest trace of drowsiness. He curled his lips and kissed Rong Yu’s reddening palm. “What are young master’s instructions?”

“Take me to the gambling den.”

Chu Tan raised an eyebrow. “No. That kind of place is very dangerous.”

Gambling dens were a murky mix of characters. Once such a delicate young master fell in, it would be like a tender piece of meat landing in a pack of beasts—before you knew it, he’d be eaten until not even bones remained.

Rong Yu answered without hesitation, “With you there, what danger could there be?”

This unconditional trust brought Chu Tan pleasure, but he still refused, “If the old lady finds out, she’ll have me caned.”

Being refused twice in a row, Rong Yu grew a bit annoyed. His eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’re afraid of the old lady’s cane, but not afraid of my whip?”

“Hmm…” Chu Tan blinked, a strange, bright light shimmering in his eyes.

It seemed he wasn’t afraid at all; he might even be a little excited.

Rong Yu sighed. It seemed he had no choice but to use that method.

He lowered his eyes, and when he looked up again, his expression changed abruptly.

The elongated corners of his eyes tilted upward. The originally clear, cold peach blossom eyes were now tinged with subtle allure, his crimson lips slightly parted, curving into a full, inviting arc.

Rong Yu leaned against Chu Tan’s palm, rubbing against it almost imperceptibly. “I just want to go look. It’s too boring here. Why don’t we go somewhere interesting to play?” His gaze flowed like water, his slender fingertips tracing circles on Chu Tan’s chest, his voice filled with endless temptation. “Don’t you want to go out and play with me? Just the two of us.”

The temptation was simply too great. A trace of laughter spilled into Chu Tan’s eyes, but he forcibly suppressed the corners of his mouth. His brow furrowed slightly, as if hesitating.

Rong Yu then wrapped his arms around his neck and gave him a soft kiss on the lips, his voice incredibly tender and ambiguous. “Li Hui, you’ll protect me well, won’t you?”

Even though it was phrased as questions, one after another, the tone was filled with reliance and trust. It was hard for anyone not to be moved.

Chu Tan watched Rong Yu act, watching him deliberately put on an alluring demeanor to seduce him. It felt like a kitten’s tail tickling the tip of his heart—both soft and itchy.

Chu Tan couldn’t help but smile inwardly, though his face remained impassive. His hands took their time exploring Rong Yu’s supple, slender body, taking full advantage of the contact. Only when he felt Rong Yu was about to lose his temper did he withdraw them, saying reluctantly, “Alright then. If young master wants to go, I naturally must agree.”

They had already made inquiries during the day. The gambling den was located in the west of the city.

Rong Yu didn’t use his wheelchair. Firstly, it was too conspicuous and easily recognizable. Secondly, it was too heavy, making it difficult for Chu Tan to climb walls with it.

So Chu Tan carried Rong Yu in his arms, his arm supporting his legs, allowing Rong Yu to cling to his neck.

It was already past the hour of Hai. The street vendors outside had packed up one after another, and there were very few people left.

The tall young man walked down the street, a black cloak enveloping the person in his arms, wrapping him up tightly. Others would have thought he was carrying a child.

They soon arrived at the gambling den. Compared to the quiet street, it was exceptionally lively here.

As soon as the curtain was lifted, a wall of noisy sound rushed towards Rong Yu—chatter, shouts, curses, laughter, all carried by the heat, smoke, and various smells.

“Big! Big! Big!” “Small! Small! Small!” “Hey, I won!” “Lost again, dammit! One more round!”

Chu Tan raised his hand to cover Rong Yu’s ears. Rong Yu shook his head, pulled down his veil a little, and let his gaze sweep inside.

The gambling den was lit by many candles, but it wasn’t very bright. In the dim space, heads bobbed about. Everyone stared intently at the gambling tables, their eyes bloodshot red yet shining with startling intensity.

When the dice cup was lifted, those stiff faces would crack open with emotion. Some would laugh wildly, gathering the chips on the table as if they’d won a lifetime’s worth of fortune. Others would slump in despair, clutching their heads and weeping as if plunging into an abyss.

Light and shadow intertwined on their faces, also reflecting the depths of their hearts.

Ghostly like wraith-fire, treacherous like demons.

This was another grotesque world.

Chu Tan carried Rong Yu inside. Although the pair looked strange, they didn’t attract undue attention in the gambling den—even people missing hands or legs still stubbornly came to gamble.

The two wove through the crowd. Rong Yu looked around with feigned indifference, and his gaze finally settled on a certain table. He nodded towards it for Chu Tan. Chu Tan followed his gaze to a somewhat familiar face—it was the father of the musician they had seen at the Listening Rain Pavilion today.

He had probably won some money. The wrinkles on his face were stretched by his grin, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth. He picked up the chips on the table while listening to the flattery of those around him.

Then he picked up a teacup beside him with both hands and took a cautious sip. Just that one small sip, and the expression on his face relaxed, his gaze turned hazy, his look one of intense bliss, as if utterly content.

But when he tried to drink more, the cup was empty. He tilted his head back, trying to pour out the very last drop. His expression began to grow agitated. He loudly called for the waiter in the gambling den, tossed him a few chips with ostentatious wealth, and declared, “Two mace of Immortal’s Intoxication, and another pot of tea.”

“Coming right up!” The waiter nodded and bowed, taking the chips. Moments later, he returned with a tray holding a pot of tea and two paper packets.

The musician’s father first tucked one of the packets carefully into his arms with reverence, then opened the other. He painstakingly poured the powder inside into the tea, stirring it carefully a couple of times.

His breathing quickened. His tongue kept licking his lips, as if parched with thirst. Then he took a large gulp directly from the teapot spout, unable to wait.

One gulp of tea down, and the agitated look on his face vanished instantly. That extremely comfortable expression reappeared. He narrowed his eyes and let out a moan of pleasure.

“Drink the Immortal’s Intoxication, and joy is like that of an immortal.”

Onlookers saw his expression. Some were envious, while others looked a bit scornful. Clearly, this “Immortal’s Intoxication” wasn’t something everyone could stomach.

And this behavior wasn’t limited to this one man. On other tables, in dark corners, many people were drinking the so-called “Immortal’s Intoxication.”

Rong Yu leaned against Chu Tan’s broad shoulder, his chin propped on his hand. He chuckled softly. “Immortal’s Intoxication. How interesting.”

Chu Tan looked at the man, a subtle flicker in his eyes, hinting at some dark emotion.

Rong Yu shifted his gaze away from that man to another table, signaling Chu Tan to go over.

This table was playing Pai Gow. Pai Gow used thirty-two tiles marked with dots. The dealer sat as the banker, shuffling and dealing the tiles. Besides the dealer, there were three doors: Heaven, Man, and Earth.

The gamblers chose their preferred door and placed their bets.

The dealer rolled the dice to determine the dealing order. Each door received four tiles. The gamblers arranged and combined them according to a detailed set of rules. Once arranged, hands were off—no changes allowed.

Finally, they compared hands with the dealer. A higher hand won the same amount of chips bet; a lower hand meant the chips went to the dealer.

This dealer was having a very good run. Rong Yu watched for a while, and he won a large pile of chips. The gamblers had all lost money and were shaking their heads, unwilling to bet large amounts again, but reluctant to leave. They just fiddled with small chips to stay in the game.

Then Rong Yu suddenly said, “Since everyone’s losing money, why not change to a new set of tiles? Change your luck!”

The gamblers’ eyes lit up.

Gamblers were the most superstitious. If they lost money, they would blame the tiles, the dice, even the direction of the seat, or which foot they had used to enter the door. Upon hearing Rong Yu’s suggestion, the gamblers eagerly agreed. Soon, they called the waiter to bring a new set of tiles.

The bettors were happy, but the dealer seemed less than pleased. He secretly shot Rong Yu a venomous glare.

Rong Yu wrapped his arms around Chu Tan’s neck, leaning lazily against him, his face half-hidden in the chaotic light, a playful smile on his lips.

Chu Tan also noticed the subtle play. A hint of indulgent laughter flashed in his eyes. He lowered his head and planted a light kiss on the bridge of Rong Yu’s slender nose.

It seemed changing the tiles really had an effect. The dealer’s luck wasn’t as good as before. He often drew poor tiles. The bettors started winning back some of their money, little by little.

As the chips in his possession dwindled, the dealer’s face grew darker and darker. In the end, he simply pushed the neatly arranged Pai Gow tiles over, scattering them across the table.

“I’m done playing!”

The dealer grabbed his chips and hurried away, shooting Rong Yu another sinister look before leaving. The remaining people cursed his poor sportsmanship—how could he run off after winning? Truly lacking in grace!

They looked at each other, but no one wanted to take over as dealer. After all, the risks of winning or losing as the banker were much greater.

At that moment, Rong Yu spoke up at just the right time. “I’ll be the banker.”

Chu Tan wiped the chair the dealer had just used and set Rong Yu down. The candle flames flickered, and only then did the gamblers get a clear look at Rong Yu’s face.

Such a young and such a beautiful boy?

Doubt and confusion surfaced in everyone’s eyes. But when Chu Tan casually placed two silver ingots on the table, all doubt vanished, replaced by excitement.

“Come on, come on!” “Deal!”

They all underestimated Rong Yu somewhat, thinking he was too young to know how to gamble properly.

Probably some rich family’s young master sneaking out to play. Just looking at his clumsy, inexperienced way of arranging the tiles told them—he had probably never even sat at a gambling table before!

The gamblers exchanged smirks, rubbing their hands in anticipation of taking those two silver ingots away from Rong Yu.

First round: two doors won, one lost. Net result—Rong Yu won nothing.

Second round: two doors won, one lost. Net result—Rong Yu lost one tael of silver. He said he’d owe it and pay in the next round.

With the silver ingots as security, the man had no objections. He even wanted to bet more, hoping to win back that ingot directly. The others thought the same. Having tasted a little success, they bet even more.

Third round, fourth round, fifth round—Rong Yu lost more and more, eventually giving away one silver ingot.

It was as if they’d figured Rong Yu didn’t know how to play. More and more people crowded around, all determined to win his money. Even the previous dealer returned, watching Rong Yu with schadenfreude, before placing a large stack of chips on the Heaven door.

Everyone laughed. Some were enjoying the spectacle, some were waiting to win money. Rong Yu’s expression remained unchanged, and Chu Tan stood beside him with an equally cold face.

Rong Yu glanced at the man who had just been the banker. He saw him flash a grin, full of mocking malice.

Rong Yu curled his lips, raised his hand, and threw the dice.

This round, the Heaven door’s tiles seemed a bit tricky. The one arranging the tiles was that very dealer, because he had bet the most. He stared at his tiles for a long time, then looked up at Rong Yu.

Rong Yu held two tiles in one hand, leaning against the table with feigned indifference. He tapped them lightly, producing a crisp sound.

“Click—click—click—”

The man rubbed the tiles between his hands, quickly rearranging their order, then slapped them face-down on the table with confidence.

Rong Yu nodded slightly. Chu Tan bent down, extended his long arm, and revealed the tiles for all three doors one by one.

Rong Yu finally straightened up. His slender, pale fingers pinched the ink-black tiles and pushed them forward with a light flick, revealing their faces to everyone.

The dealer squinted to look, and instantly froze on the spot.

“Hey! Why did you play that tile combination!” someone exclaimed, slapping their chest in frustration. “You broke up a Pair of Earth! Focusing only on the head and ignoring the tail!” “You shouldn’t have lost that hand! He had a Pair of Fives, we had a Pair of Earth—originally, we wouldn’t lose! But after your change, we lost exactly!” “We bet so much money, and you didn’t even consult us before arranging the tiles!”

Those who had bet on the Heaven door started arguing heatedly, all criticizing the man who had arranged the tiles. He stared fixedly at the tiles, filled with regret. He had originally thought Rong Yu didn’t know how to play, so he chose the aggressive strategy over the safe one, thinking that even if he couldn’t win, he wouldn’t lose.

Who could have guessed it would be so perfectly aligned—the head was countered by the head, the tail by the tail, resulting in a loss that was just right, absolutely precise. Any other way of arranging the tiles would have avoided defeat.

He was berated by the others who had also bet on the Heaven door. Anger surged within him, and he shot back coldly, “A loss is a loss. We’ll win it back in the next round!”

The crowd gave him a wary look and fell silent.

This round: two doors lost, one door neither won nor lost. Net result—Rong Yu won five taels of silver.

The others bet again, thinking that Rong Yu had just gotten lucky in the last round, drawing a good hand. Next round, he would obediently lose it back.

But it was from this round that the tide turned—

Seventh round: all three doors lost. Eighth round: all three doors lost. Ninth round, tenth round… all three doors lost.

More and more people came to play. Everyone was getting worked up. They were unwilling to lose to a mere brat and clung to the hope of winning it back, so they kept betting and kept losing.

By the time they realized it, a tall stack of chips had already accumulated in front of Rong Yu, while they were left with almost nothing.

The gamblers felt it was uncanny. How could they keep losing?

“You’re cheating!” The man who had just been dealer pointed at Rong Yu and shouted, “You must be cheating!”

“Cheating?” The crowd began to murmur. Everyone knew cheating was forbidden in the gambling den. Once caught, a cheater would have their fingers chopped off and be thrown out, never allowed to set foot in a gambling den again.

Did this young boy, who didn’t look old, have the nerve to cheat? Moreover, he didn’t look like an experienced cheater at all.

Facing the suspicious gazes, Rong Yu smiled lazily. He untied a jade pendant from his waist and tossed it casually onto the table.

“Cheating? Is your little bit of money even worthy?”

He shed his cloak, revealing an apricot-white brocade robe embroidered with gold and lotus patterns. Jade rings hung at his waist, tinkling softly. Never mind the gems on his belt, even the white jade hairpin he used to tie his hair was worth a hundred taels.

An air of nobility exuded from him, making his delicate features appear even more strikingly beautiful.

“This young master came to play. This small change is merely for the sound it makes. I wouldn’t stoop to cheating.”

His tone was arrogant, his expression haughty, yet it didn’t inspire Disgusted . Instead, it felt like this was how it should be. Such a precious, refined young master should naturally be domineering. It made the gamblers feel inferior.

Some eyes flickered with greed, sizing up Rong Yu like a fat sheep. But their gaze would flinch upon encountering the tall, stern “guard” beside him.

The previous dealer fell silent, the venomous look in his eyes deepening.

“You’ve all lost your money to me. Still want to play?” Rong Yu crossed his arms, propping up his chin, as if he still hadn’t had enough.

Those people looked at their nearly empty chip stacks and awkwardly wanted to leave for another table. This kid was too uncanny; you couldn’t play with him.

“Don’t go,” Rong Yu called after them, a bright smile on his handsome face. “Don’t you want these chips anymore?”

“Of course we want them!” someone answered.

Rong Yu curled his lips and dropped a bombshell. “If you want them, take them. Take as much as you like.”

The man said in surprise , “Really?”

Rong Yu watched him with a smile. “Of course it’s real.”

The man tentatively reaching out , his eyes darting nervously towards Chu Tan. Seeing Chu Tan’s expressionless face but no stop , he quickly snatched a handful. Seeing his success, the others also grew eager.

Rong Yu chuckled lowly. That hand, as slender and white as jade, pinched a stack of chips. He slowly twirled them between his fingers, then threw them forcefully into the air. The chips drifted down like a shower of Dirty snow.

Rong Yu laughed and called out, “Take them! What this young master has least of is money!”

Those people, like dogs catching prey, saw red. Such a sum of money was enough for them to squander for a long time. They knelt, crawled, and scrambled to pick up the falling chips, or snatched them from those around them. It was chaotic, a scene of demons dancing wildly.

Rong Yu laughed amidst this chaos. In his eyes, these people transformed into all manner of shapes—some were oxen, some were horses, some were chickens, some were pigs… He slapped the table excitedly. The surging, feverish blood within him raised a sickly flush on his pale cheeks.

The candlestick on the table was knocked askew by someone. The swaying lamplight reflected in Rong Yu’s eyes, Infected with strange madness and excitement 。 Joyful, hearty laughter poured from those beautiful, crimson lips. The young man was like a flower blooming to its most opulent, dazzling peak— Enchanting and beautiful , becoming the sole vivid color in this grotesque world.

【Author’s Note:】 Let me explain the tile game here. The faces of the Pai Gow tiles are ranked: Heaven, Earth, Man, Goose, long tiles, short tiles, and mixed tiles, in descending order. Rong Yu’s hand was a Heaven Nine paired with a Five. The Heaven door’s hand was a Short Four paired with an Earth. A Five is a mixed tile, and a Pair of Fives is the lowest pair. His opponent had a Pair of Earth (Earth is two points), which beats Rong Yu’s pair. If played that way—head wins, tail loses—it would result in a draw. But his opponent split the Pair of Earth. The eight and six points from the Short Four were also split, forming an Earth Eight and Earth Gong. A pair specifically beats a Gong, so this resulted in a win on both head and tail, causing his opponent to lose. If you don’t understand, it doesn’t matter—it doesn’t affect the plot, hehe. I just got carried away writing it; I used to love playing this game.